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Plumbing Noise Diagnosis & Cure

Find & Fix Plumbing Noises - home

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Plumbing system noises at supply pipes, drain pipes, vents, faucets, fixtures:

This plumbing noise article series explains all of the types, causes, and cures for noises traced to a building plumbing system, supply piping, drain piping, traps, fixtures, equipment.

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Plumbing System Noises in buildings, Causes, Cures: list of sources of plumbing noise

This article explains how we find & identify the sources of all types of plumbing noises in buildings. We can then trace these noises to their source in order to fix or stop them.

Because the action we might take is different - repair a problem versus control or isolate sound, we divide plumbing noises into two groups:

Plumbing defect noises associated with plumbing system problems or defects whose identification and diagnosis is discussed first in the checklist given just below in this article and further at references at the article end.
Plumbing defect noises may stem from problems in building fixtures (leaks, drips, running toilets), building piping (clogged gurgling drains or whistling hammering water supply pipes), or from building mechanical systems (clicking control relays or screaming well pumps).
We will give links to more-detailed diagnosis and repair articles for each of these noise sources and types.
Normal (but annoying) plumbing system noises that will be corrected by noise transmission control or sound insulation are discussed
at SOUND CONTROL for PLUMBING

Sources of Plumbing System Noises in buildings

This list of sources of annoying or diagnostic sounds traced to plumbing systems & equipment is in alphabetical order by keyword. Also use your browser's FIND function (Ctrl-F or CMD-F) to search for your own noise keywords in this article.

Air bound sewer or effluent pump systems, sump pumps running dry, or air bound hot water heating system baseboards /radiators can leave a pump motor running and humming but not pumping. Check for a dry sump pit with motor control not turning off the pump, an air bound sump pump, or an air bound heating system.
For air bound heating systems
see AIR-BOUND HEATING SYSTEMS
or
For a humming sewage or sump pump,
see SEPTIC / SEWAGE PUMP DISCHARGE VENT
Air conditioning & heat pump systems include some plumbing components that can be related to building noise.
See HVAC SYSTEM NOISE DIAGNOSIS
Banging pipes, creaks, rattles, and vibrations
see WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE. Water hammer tends to occur when water is shut off but banging or rattling pipes may also occur as water is run at particular volumes or pressures through the system.
Or
see BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS
Banging water heater,
see WATER HEATER NOISE DIAGNOSIS, CURE
Check valve noises, particularly a loud bang or clang at sump pumps, effluent pumps, and sewage ejector pumps occur when flow reverses in the discharge pump at the end of a pump-on cycle.
See SEWAGE PUMPS for details.
Also
see CHECK VALVES, WATER SUPPLY, DRAINS, PUMPS
Clanging, ringing sounds in buildings are often traced to loose water supply piping, water hammer in supply piping
See WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE
See WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING - rapid on-off cycling of a water pump can cause water hammer clanging noises.
Steam pipe or hot water heating radiator banging and clanging
See BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS
Also see HEATING SYSTEM NOISES
Drain piping noises from clogged or partly clogged drains -
See PLUMBING DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS - home
Also see
See CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
Drips at plumbing fixtures including faucets, sinks, toilets, tubs, showers, washers, etc. may make an obvious drip or splash sound.
But dripping water can be tricky to track down. Don't forget to consider
- A small water supply leak inside of a building cavity can produce a noise that is hard to track down.
  Supply pipe leaks may be continuous (and thus are eventually discovered by water stains or mold) or intermittent, such as a leak around a tub or shower control that drips into the wall cavity only when the valve is turned "on".
  See SOUNDS of RUNNING / DRIPPING WATER in DRAINS
- A drain piping leak inside of a building cavity can also produce a noise that is hard to track down. But a drain drip noise should not be present when no fixtures have water running into them.
  But don't forget that a quietly running toilet can also produce a drip or other plumbing problems downstream from the toilet in the building drain piping.
Plumbing Fixture noises at drains, gurgling, glug glug sounds, burbling, bubbling during drainage when sinks, tubs, or showers drain, or when a toilet is flushed -
See NOISE, PLUMBING DRAIN REPAIR - fixing plumbing noises at drains by fixing drain or vent problems and
see PLUMBING VENT DEFECTS & NOISES
and CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.
Heating system noisesmay include sounds part of or transmitted through building piping, motors, controls.
See BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS
See BANGING HEATING ZONE VALVES
See BUZZING NOISE, HEATER
Plumbing Vent System noises
See AIR ADMITTANCE VALVE AAV NOISE DIAGNOSIS
and PLUMBING VENT NOISE
Plumbing water supply piping noises include
- Leaks in water pipes outside of the building but in water supply piping coming to the building from a municipal water main or city water piping can produce a humming, hissing, or ringing sound in the building. I
  f you turn off the main water shutoff at the building and listen with a mechanic's stethoscope to the water pipes on the street side of the shutoff valve, comparing this sound to pipes in the building you can identify this problem.
  See WATER SUPPLY / DRAIN PIPE LEAK TYPES
  and see WELL PIPING LEAK DIAGNOSIS.
- Running water in the building that is unanticipated, such as a running toilet or intermittent cycling water pump (private well systems) will produce intermittent water pipe noises.
  See TOILET RUNS CONTINUOUSLY
  and
  See INTERMITTENT CYCLING WATER PUMPS.
- Water hammer noise: banging or clanking sounds when water faucets are shut off -
  See WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE
- Water pipe transmission of vibrations in well pumps or other pumps used in the plumbing system -
  See NOISE, PLUMBING CHECKLIST for details.
- Whistling shrieking water pipe noises -
  See WATER SUPPLY PIPE WHISTLE NOISE
Refrigerant piping noises:
See REFRIGERANT PIPING NOISE - running water or gurgling sounds, sounds in refrigerant piping - floodback or condensate?
Spa & hot tub noises:
See SPA & JETTED TUB NOISE ISSUES
and
See SPA / HOT TUB BLOWER UNIT
and
See SPA / HOT TUB PUMP REPAIR
Toilet noises:
- If a toilet is running there may be rippling water sounds, drip sounds (into the main drain waste vent line), and occasional cycling of a water pump if the building is connected to a private well system. Fix the running toilet.
  See TOILET RUNS CONTINUOUSLY
- Toilet flush noises in drain piping: such as burbling or gurgling noises at the toilet or at nearby drains are corrected by fixing slow or blocked drains or by finding and fixing missing or clogged plumbing vents.
  Transmitted toilet drain noises may also be avoided by routing drain lines out of bedrooms or other quiet areas or by sound isolation of the pipe chase.
- Airborne toilet noises such as toilet flushing need to be controlled by building sound isolation methods discussed beginning
  at SOUND CONTROL in buildings.
Washing machine noises -
There is a remarkably large catalog of clothes washer noises, from buzzing to zipper sounds.
See details at WASHING MACHINE NOISE CAUSE & CURE
Water heater noises -
Popping noises at water heater or boiler may be due to scale accumulation.
See WATER HEATER NOISE DIAGNOSIS, CURE
Rumbling or other noise at water heater,
see WATER HEATER NOISE DIAGNOSIS, CURE
Water pump noises: hiss, hum, motor sounds, clunks, or thunks: at water pumps or well pumps. Water pumps can be quite noisy, depending on the pump type and model, and the pump location.
See WATER PUMP NOISE DIAGNOSIS - topic home.
If the well pump is a submersible unit located inside the well, normally the only noise you'll observe in the building is the clicking of the pump control relay(s) that turn the pump on or off, and possibly a modest sound of water entering the water pressure tank or building piping.
- Water pump noises change from loud and rattling to a more quiet hum if a pump has lost prime (contains air instead of water) and then regains its prime (contains water). Running a pump "dry" can also destroy it.
  See WATER PUMP LIFE EXPECTANCY.
  But if your well pump is located indoors the pump motor sound can be loud and disturbing
  We do not recommend simply surrounding the pump or covering it with fiberglass insulation in contact with the pump or water tank, because condensation can lead to a mold problem.
  But enclosing a well pump in a utility room that has benefited from sound control insulation can make a big reduction in pump noise heard in the rest of the structure.
  See SOUND CONTROL in BUILDINGS and
  also see NOISE, PLUMBING CHECKLIST for details about well pump sound transmission through air or through water piping.
- See INTERMITTENT CYCLING WATER PUMPS for an explanation of water pumps that turn on unexpectedly.
- See SHORT CYCLING WATER PUMP
  or WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING DIAGNOSIS TABLE if the well pump is turning on and off too frequently
- See WATER PUMP WONT STOP RUNNING if the well pump simply won't stop running at all
- Hissing noise of air escaping at water tanks: air escaping from the air volume control valve on some water pressure tanks, such as the U.S. Gauge Type 310WJ Air Volume Controls makes a hissing noise and is normal but should only occur on occasion, not constantly.
  Otherwise there is a probably problem of having put too much air into the water tank.
  See WATER TANK AIR VOLUME CONTROLS.
- A "thunk" or "clunk" sound heard around the water pressure tank or water pressure tank controls can be caused by check valve, control, or piping troubles.
  See WATER PUMP NOISE DIAGNOSIS for details.
- Jetted tubs, whirlpool baths, spas: motor & pump noise transmission
  See JETTED TUB & SPA NOISE ISSUES
Water pump pressure control clicking or humming may be normal or may spell trouble.
See WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH NOISES and
also see CHATTERING RELAYS, PUMP SWITCH in that article
Water pressure tank and water storage tank noises:
- Bubbling and gurgling at the water pressure tank is usually air in the well piping system; look for a leak in the well piping system or low water levels in the well.
  See AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES
- Clicking at the water pressure tank, especially if the well pump is submersible (in the well and nowhere near the tank itself) is more likely the water pump pressure control relay clicking in and out to turn the pump on and off.
  If the clicking is rapid, every few seconds, your well pump is short-cycling and needs repair.
  See SHORT CYCLING WATER PUMP
- Squeals and shrieks from water pressure tank: A squealing water pressure tank sound is often due to water passing through a restricted valve or pipe clog. A high pitched shriek or whine also occurs during fill-ups of water tanks whose water level is controlled by a float.
  In that case the noise seems to come from a combination of stick float mechanism that may not fully open the fill valve and thus a partial restriction in the water line.
  Shrieking from a water pressure tank that incorporates a bladder may be due to a partly collapsed bladder or obstruction at the tank entrance fittings.
- Also see WATER TANK NOISE DIAGNOSIS
Running toilets - may produce a high pitched sound, or may be silent but sill running.
SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS may include pumps that produce noise in the building - see Pump Noises above.
Plumbing drain piping or plumbing fixture noise diagnosis and cure -
see NOISE, PLUMBING DRAIN REPAIR - fixing plumbing noises at drains by fixing drain or vent problems
and
see PLUMBING VENT DEFECTS & NOISES
and
see CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.
Also see NOISE CONTROL for PLUMBING where we describe reducing the annoying sounds of normal plumbing system piping and fixtures.
Plumbing Supply piping noises, including a high-pitched hissing or whistling sound may be heard as water runs through building supply piping. |
This sound should stop immediately when you turn off any fixture that is running water in the building. You may be able to stop or reduce plumbing supply piping noise by changing the water system pressure at a municipal water supply valve.
Try first just slightly reducing the incoming water pressure.
See WATER PRESSURE REGULATOR ADJUSTMENT. We have also corrected this noise by slightly closing the main water shut off valve at a municipal supply to adjust the incoming water flow rate.
If your water pipes are making a banging or clanging sound at the moment when water is turned off,
see WATER HAMMER NOISE DIAGNOSE & CURE
Plumbing vent piping-caused plumbing system noises and odors -
At PLUMBING VENT DEFECTS & NOISES we explain the basics of proper plumbing vent piping and how errors cause trap siphonage, odors, and noises. See:
- PLUMBING DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS
- PLUMBING DRAIN NOISE REPAIR
- PLUMBING VENT CODES, DEFINITIONS, TYPES
- PLUMBING VENT DEFECTS & NOISES
- PLUMBING VENT NOISES - gurgling sounds, also odors
- Also see CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR.
Water heater noises:
see WATER HEATER NOISE DIAGNOSIS, CURE - identify and cure noises at water heaters such as rumbling, clanking, burbling, hissing, and clinking noises observed at water heaters.
Also there may be noises at the water heater due to oil or gas burner problems.
See OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS.
Water pressure control switch noises:
see WATER PUMP PRESSURE SWITCH NOISES to identify clicking or hissing
Water tank noises: Bubbling sounds if air is being forced into the water tank from an air leak in well piping, low well water level, or from an air volume control. Hissing noise of air escaping at water tanks:
See WATER TANK NOISE DIAGNOSIS
and
See WATER TANK AIR VOLUME CONTROLS.
Other advice about controlling normal plumbing noises in buildings by controlling sound transmission is
at SOUND CONTROL for PLUMBING.

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